Madagasgar
''Madagascar'' (2005 film)= From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#mw-head navigation], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#p-search search][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi ] '''''Madagascar''''' is a 2005 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_animation computer-animated] film produced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamWorks_Animation DreamWorks Animation], and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_Zoo Central Park Zoo] animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked on the island of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar Madagascar]. The voices of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Stiller Ben Stiller], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jada_Pinkett_Smith Jada Pinkett Smith], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock Chris Rock], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Schwimmer David Schwimmer] are featured. Other voices include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Baron_Cohen Sacha Baron Cohen], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedric_the_Entertainer Cedric the Entertainer], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Richter Andy Richter]. ''Madagascar'' was released on DVD on November 15, 2005, along with the short film, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madagascar_Penguins_in_a_Christmas_Caper The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper]''. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc Blu-ray Disc] version was released on September 23, 2008. A sequel, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar:_Escape_2_Africa Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa]'', was released on November 7, 2008. The third film in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(franchise)#Films series] (''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_3:_Europe%27s_Most_Wanted Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted]'') is set to release on June 8, 2012. Plot At the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_Zoo Central Park Zoo], Marty the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra zebra] is celebrating his tenth birthday, but longs to see the rest of the world from outside his pampered life at the zoo, believing that he can find wide-open spaces to run around in, like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut Connecticut]. Marty's best friend, Alex the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion lion] attempts to cheer up his friend by singing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" with him. Still unsatisfied, Marty gets some tips from the zoo's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin penguins]; Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. The penguins are similarly trying to escape the zoo. Marty's friends - Alex the lion, Melman the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe giraffe] and Gloria the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus hippopotamus] - realize Marty's folly and try to follow him. The four, along with the penguins and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee chimpanzees] Mason and his silent friend Phil eventually find themselves at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Station Grand Central Station], but are quickly sedated by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedative tranquilizer darts] when Alex's attempt to communicate with humans is mistaken for aggression. The zoo (under pressure from animal-rights activists) is forced to ship the animals, by sea, to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya Kenyan] wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins escape from their enclosure and take over the ship, intent on taking it to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica Antarctica]. Their antics on the bridge cause the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melmen, and Gloria to fall off the boat and wash ashore on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar Madagascar]. The animals are soon able to regroup, initially believing themselves to be in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego San Diego], California. Upon exploring, however, they come across a pack of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur lemurs] led by King Julien XIII, and quickly learn of their true location. Alex blames Marty for their predicament and attempts to signal for help to get back to civilization. Marty, on the other hand, finds the wild to be exactly what he was looking for, with Gloria and Melman soon joining him in enjoying the island. Alex eventually comes around, though his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predator_drive hunting instincts] begin to show; he has been away from the pampered zoo life of prepacked steaks for too long. The group is accepted by the lemurs, though King Julien's adviser, Maurice, cautions them about Alex's predatory nature. King Julien ignores Maurice's concerns and persuades the group to help the lemurs fend off the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossa_(animal) fossa], who hunt the lemurs as prey. While initially Alex scares the fossa away and is worshiped by the lemurs, he becomes delusional and attacks Marty due to his instincts and starvation. Realizing that Alex is now a threat to them, King Julien banishes Alex to the far side of the island, where the fossa live. Marty begins to regret seeing what Alex has turned into. The penguins, having been to Antarctica and found that it "sucks," land the boat on Madagascar. Seeing this as a chance to return Alex to New York, Marty rushes after his friend against the wishes of the others. Marty attempts to convince the now grizzled, starving Alex to return but Alex refuses in fear of attacking him again. The penguins, Gloria and Melman go to find Marty, but are trapped by the fossa. At the last minute, Alex suddenly appears and approaches Marty as if he were prey, but then turns on the fossa to scare them away from the lemur territory forever. Alex reveals that he has overcome his predatory nature, and the penguins help Alex satisfy his hunger through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi sushi] instead of steak. As the lemurs throw a ''[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bon_voyage bon voyage]'' celebration for the foursome, the penguins decide not to break the news that the ship has run out of fuel and that they are still stuck on the island, setting the stage for ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar:_Escape_2_Africa Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa]''. Cast *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Stiller Ben Stiller] as Alex *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock Chris Rock] as Marty *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Schwimmer David Schwimmer] as Melman *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jada_Pinkett_Smith Jada Pinkett Smith] as Gloria *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Baron_Cohen Sacha Baron Cohen] as King Julien *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedric_the_Entertainer Cedric the Entertainer] as Maurice *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Richter Andy Richter] as Mort *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_McGrath_(animator) Tom McGrath] as Skipper *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Miller_(animator) Chris Miller] as Kowalski *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DiMaggio John DiMaggio] as Rico (uncredited) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Knights Christopher Knights] as Private *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Vernon Conrad Vernon] as Mason (Phil is unvoiced) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_McGrath_(animator) Tom McGrath] as the Fossa *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisa_Gabrielli Elisa Gabrielli] as Nana *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Saget Bob Saget] as zoo animal (animal unclear) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Cowgill&action=edit&redlink=1 David Cowgill] as Police Horse *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Apostolina Stephen Apostolina] as Police Officer Characters Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_Madagascar List of characters in Madagascar]Alex the Lion is the most popular animal at the Central Park Zoo. Nicknamed The King of New York, he is very happy with life in the zoo. When the characters first arrive in Madagascar, he is the loudest proponent of trying to return to the zoo. He is extremely fond of eating steaks but has no idea that they come from animals until he goes into withdrawal after 2 days of not eating after reaching Madagascar. Marty the Zebra is the instigator behind escaping from the zoo. He constantly dreams about the wild (which he, due to Melman's misinformation, interprets as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut Connecticut]) and wonders what life would be like beyond the zoo. One night, following the successful escape of the penguins, he leaves the zoo too, causing his friends to attempt a rescue at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Station Grand Central Station]. After they are recaptured from the train station, animal rights activists hold a rally, leading the zoo to have them and the rest of the animals shipped to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_preserve wildlife preserve] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya Kenya]. However, the penguins hijack the ship and accidentally cause the crates containing Marty and his friends to fall off. The crates float on the ocean until they reach Madagascar. Melman the Giraffe is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriac hypochondriac] who was transferred to the Central Park Zoo as a young adult. Because of his previous stay in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_Zoo Bronx Zoo], Melman believes that he's a real worldly guy, the most experienced in his circle of friends. He's also on a lot of medication and has lots of experience in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging MRI machines]. Gloria the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus Hippopotamus] serves as the mediator and the nurturer of the group who takes care of the others and tends to take charge when needed and loves to eat and live the good life. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penguins_of_Madagascar Penguins], a group of four consisting of Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private, spend their days planning an escape that will take them back to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica Antarctica]. When the penguins do make it to Antarctica, they are surprised to see a cold, barren land that they do not like and so, decide to take the ship to what they consider "paradise": Florida. However, having run out of fuel, they beach the ship in Madagascar. Skipper is the leader of the group. Kowalski, the smartest and tallest of the penguins, thinks of plans and takes notes for Skipper. Private is distinguishable by his googly eyes and soft [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_accent English accent]; he is the youngest of the group. Rico is good with knives, has a fondness for explosives, and is the only one of the four seen swimming. He also regurgitates useful objects (a variation of the "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_satchel magic satchel]") such as a piece of wire for picking locks with. Alex describes the penguins as psychotic (while they say the same of him). Skipper calls Marty their "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochrome monochromatic] friend", amusing since both kinds of animals are "black and white". King Julien XIII the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_Lemur Ring-tailed Lemur] is the self-proclaimed King of the Madagascar [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur lemurs]. Julien speaks with an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English Indian accent] and loves to sing, dance, and be the center of attention. Julien is annoyed by the lemur [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_(Madagascar) Mort] and even suggests feeding him to Alex in order to help him get over his addiction to steak. He wears a crown made out of leaves, and later a larger one that features a gecko. The other lemurs hang on his every word. He is slightly deranged and overly impressed by his modest intellect. Julien is also very weird and dramatic. He contrives a plan to use Alex to protect the lemurs from their natural enemies, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossa_(animal) fossa], as long as Alex doesn't overshadow his own glory. Also, according to the song "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Like_to_Move_It I Like to Move It]" King Julien XIII is about 68 (or six to eight?) years old. According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the Seattle Post Intelligencer [http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/225746_moment26.html [1]], "We had this two-line character, Julian [sic], and we got a tape of the show 'Ali G' with Sacha Baron Cohen. He came in and he invented this Indian accent. We gave him a couple of lines and he turned them into eight minutes of dialogue. We were just in tears on the floor and thought, 'This guy has to be the king.' So that was just a two-line part that he invented and it turned into that role." Maurice the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aye-aye Aye-aye] is Julien's assistant and second in command of the lemurs. He is in charge of announcing Julien to his court, though he finds this task tedious. He is generally less impressed by Julien than the other lemurs. Maurice shows the most intelligence in Julien's court, and is the only one to recognize Alex as a potentially greater threat than the fossa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_(Madagascar) Mort] is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_lemur Mouse lemur] that most animals find adorable, but King Julien is highly annoyed by him, eventually shouting "Oh, shut up, you're so annoying!" in response to his inane chatter. Mort responds to this by giggling and looking flattered. He has an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession obsession] with feet; to be precise, King Julien's feet. In the commentary for the film, the director mentioned that Mort was actually 35, despite his childish behavior. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossa_(animal) Fossas] are predators native to Madagascar, who resemble [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyena hyenas] or half-cat half-dog creatures. Known as the top predators in the island of Madagascar, the fossa are the villains of the movie, constantly trying to kill and eat the lemurs. According to Julien, "they're always annoying us by trespassing, interrupting our parties, and ripping our limbs off". They are cowards, however, and always flee when confronted by a bigger predator, such as Alex. They also use foreign objects such as salt and pepper shakers. Despite appearances, the pronunciation in the film ("foo-sah") is accurate, however the spelling (Foosa or Fousa) is not, as shown in one of the signs on the island. Mason and Phil are the sophisticated chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, preferring to "read" the newspaper and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning; for them, freedom means attending a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe Tom Wolfe] lecture to "fling poo at him." Mason speaks with a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation RP] accent and plans the daily affairs for Phil and himself, but is unable to read. He is named for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mason James Mason], whose voice inspired the character's portrayal. Phil doesn't speak, making him initially seem less intelligent and more primitive than his comrade, but can read English and "speaks" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Language American Sign Language] which instills the idea that Phil is perhaps the more cerebral of the two. Both escape from the zoo in the beginning of the movie after Alex, Gloria, and Melman leave for Grand Central Station; they are later caught at Grand Central trying to rob a teller. They are also sent to the wildlife reserve along with the main characters. Unlike the main characters, they don't wash up on the shores of Madagascar, however they do appear in the background of the final scene in their crate on the ship. In their first scene in the movie, they raid a waste basket for leftover [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee coffee], a bagel, and a newspaper. Their crate on the ship is full of aluminum cans (in the DVD, it is indicated that they contain [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer root beer], not beer, likely implemented in order to make the film more family-friendly). According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the ''Seattle Post Intelligencer''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-0 [1]] the chimp's "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label. We got this girl who knew American Sign Language. We wanted (the gestures) to be really frenetic so she signed out, 'Tell the tiny pea-brained birds that the sign reads: Ship to ...' and it gave us enough hand gestures. Then we went back to 'I see that Tom Wolfe is speaking at Lincoln Center,' and she gestured, 'Can we throw our poo at his stupid white suit?'". Animals featured *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra Zebra] (Marty) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus Hippopotamus] (Gloria) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion Lion] (Alex) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe Giraffe] (Melman) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin Penguin] (the four penguins) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee Chimpanzee] (Mason and Phil) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_Lemur Ring-tailed Lemur] (King Julien XIII) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_lemur Mouse lemur] (Mort) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aye-aye Aye-aye] (Maurice) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffed_Lemur Ruffed Lemur] (seen in lemur troop) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drouhard%27s_Shrew_Tenrec Drouhard's Shrew Tenrec] (seen at lemur meeting rolling into ball in fear, known in the director's commentary as Teemo) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chameleon Chameleon] (seen at lemur meeting or anywhere, known in canon sources as Masakuro) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly Butterfly] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelot_Gecko Ocelot Gecko] (seen at lemur meeting and on King Julien XIII's new crown, subtitles revealed name to be "Stevie") *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_rat Giant rat] (seen attacked by snake and later eaten by hawk) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake Snake] (seen attacking giant rat) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk Hawk] (seen eating giant rat) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird Hummingbird] (seen eaten by carnivorous plant) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck Duck] (seen eaten by Nile crocodile) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_crocodile Nile crocodile] (seen eating duck) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin Dolphins] (seen carrying Marty to Madagascar) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse Horse] (seen in New York City, talking to Marty as an "officer") *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human Humans] (as regular citizens of New York City, zoo staff, and the ship's crew) *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossa_(animal) Fossa] (the film's antagonists) Reception Critical reception The film gained mixed reviews from critics, from excellent to terrible. On [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes], the film received a 55% approval rating based on 178 reviews.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-1 [2]] On Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", 37% of critics gave positive reviews based on 35 reviews.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-2 [3]] On [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacritic Metacritic], the film has 57% approval rating based on 36 reviews falling under the "Mixed or Average" category.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-3 [4]] Box office Despite the mixed response from critics, the film was a commercial success. On its opening weekend, the film grossed $47,224,594 with a $11,431 average from 4,131 theaters making it the number 3 movie of that weekend behind [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_III:_Revenge_of_the_Sith ''Star Wars:Episode III - Revenge of the Sith''] and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Yard_(2005_film) The Longest Yard]''.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-4 [5]] However, the film managed to claim the top position in the U.S. box office the following week with a gross of $28,110,235.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-5 [6]] In the United States, the film eventually grossed $193,595,521, and in foreign areas grossed $339,085,150 with a summative worldwide gross of $532,680,671.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-6 [7]] As of July 2010, the film is the eighth highest-grossing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamWorks DreamWorks] animated feature behind ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_2 Shrek 2]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_the_Third Shrek the Third]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek Shrek]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_Forever_After Shrek Forever After]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_(film) How to Train Your Dragon]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda Kung Fu Panda]'', and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters_vs._Aliens Monsters vs. Aliens]''.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(2005_film)#cite_note-7 [8]] Awards